Truth long overdue
by Takenaka
Summary: And he punched him then, kicked him, hurt him. Anything to wipe that smile off his face, to close those eyes that were taking away his lies, his mask. SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All Naruto characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. If they were mine that would mean I could draw (T.T)

P.S thanks to my beta reader fRuiTdevil for taking the time to read it and help me correct my mistakes.

It was a dark night, promising a terrible and painful death to those who dared leave the safety of their homes. The wind blew softly, ice cold, to remind those who were foolish enough to ignore the obvious that this was not their place.

Deep black eyes glared, holding nothing back. This was not what he had imagined would happen. There had always been a small, yet persistent, voice that demanded this did not happen. It had never been about fear…fear was for the weak, fear was for those who had something to loose. He did not. And yet there was something that stopped him, like it did years before, he could not go through with it given the chance, and he knew it. And he hated it, detested it from the bottom of his heart cause that feeling should not have been there. He had never allowed himself to feel. No strength could be gained from feelings…and this was proof.

But _him_…he was different from everything and everyone. _He_ never cared…or perhaps _he_ had cared too much. Everything he felt, everything he thought was there…for those who could read him, for those who could see underneath the underneath…beneath the mask of happiness that was always with him, was the boy…or maybe man, that had seen what the world was like at a young age. Yet he had not lost faith in what others might have felt was too broken to repair. Like himself. He had kept trying and trying until in the end, the inevitable took place .No more chasing around a shadow…a clue or hint to lead him to the right place. He was in the right place, at the right time, with the right person…and none of them wanted to be there.

His blue eyes clearly said that, he had spent so much time searching for something that in the end he was unsure what to do. He had followed an ideal that had quickly crumbled as they looked at each other after being years apart. There was no easy way out. For the fight was unavoidable.

"Sasuke…"

His voice had changed. That startled him for reasons he could not really phantom. Both of them were grown men now but upon hearing his voice there was a terrible longing for what was past…and it was quickly suppressed. The past was gone and the future was bleak, there was nothing left for him except killing, or be killed. Nothing else.

"Naruto. This time…will be the last time."

"Yes. It will be."

And he launched himself at the blond, the one person that made him feel, the one person that had never left him, never expected anything out of him, the one person that saw him as a human being.

The only person he could never kill.

The sword stopped a leaf's breath away from his heart. His opponent hadn't moved, not even to block his attack. He had simply waited there, expecting the hit. He was angry.

"Fight me."

Still he didn't move, didn't speak. His blue eyes calm, and his mouth titled upwards in a smile.

"No."

And he punched him then, kicked him, hurt him. Anything to wipe that smile off his face, to close those eyes that were taking away his lies, his mask. Anything to stop himself from falling…and never wanting to be saved. Any still he did not move, did not defend himself in anyway, while blood dripped form his temple and his skin turned blue.

"Damn it. FIGHT ME!"

"No."

His rage exploded then, hitting him hard enough to send him flying, face first into a tree further back. He was onto him as fast as lighting pinning him there, blade to his throat, Sharingan active.

"Why?"

He was practically growling in his face.

"Because I won't help you loose yourself. If you want to kill me, do so, I won't stop you."

His expression never faltered throughout the whole ordeal…never once had his smile faded, never had his gaze been diverted.

He banged him against the tree, holding his shoulder hard enough to bruise.

"I've been lost for years! Why can't you understand that?"

"Because I love you."

His face was a mask of rage, the blade moved smoothly away from his neck, leaving a faint red trail behind, and swung upwards in a deadly aim.

Blood splashed across his blade and against his face…

He had lost, when he thought he could not possibly do so. His one goal in life would not be achieved because he…was in love…with a dobe.

"I hated you"

A warm hand rested against his cheek turning his face to face him, blood spilling freely from the scratch on his cheek. Eyes alight in a way not seen since he was betrayed...

"Teme…"

And their lips touched, in a long over due kiss, as the Sharingan vanished, and tears of helplessness, self disgust and happiness leaked unwillingly from his eyes.

"…when will you learn, that it is only those that we care about that make us strong?"

And the tears fell unchecked from both, because this was no time to hold back. Because they have both in pain for so long over each other, over the unfairness of life…that the knowledge that they were not alone anymore was enough.

Authors Note:

I'm not sure where the idea came from, I just started writing randomly and this is the result ; It's not half as bad as my other works so I'd really appreciate feedback from anyone who reads this. Thank you very much.

Edit: Corrected some spelling and grammatical mistakes.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: same as the one in the previous chapter ^^

A.N: So…I decided to continue the story. Why? Cause exams normally give me the urge to write something totally unrelated ^^;; *cough*

Enjoy 

He could feel the morning heat on his skin and the gentle light through his closed eyelids, but he couldn't bring himself to wake up. The night had been too good, too surreal even, and he didn't want to give it up as yet. Lingering in the security of what he was sure was a dream, eyes stubbornly closed, he tried to go back to sleep and forget. But morning always won, bringing with it the stark and cruel realization that dreams were not real and could never be. After all that time, all that pain, things couldn't have ended like that, an anticlimax so acute it almost made him laugh. Damn himself for not giving up hope, for remembering, dreaming and for his heart's timely reminder of why he was in this predicament to begin with.

He sighed and immediately noticed the slight throbbing on his neck and cheek. Cuts. His heart skipped a beat. It couldn't be. He refused to believe and have his hopes crushed once again, his heart broken again. He didn't know how many times his heart could bear being broken before it forgot how to be whole again. Unwillingly the thought had already lodged in his head. A single idea that thrilled and terrified him like nothing else could have.

And suddenly he was aware of his surroundings, of the soft grass he was laying on, the sound of birds in the trees and the foreign heat against his right side. He sat up, too startled to think, to measure the consequences of this small gesture. He could feel the eyes on the back of his head and the subtle shift of a body away from his own.

_It wasn't a dream_.

His eyes widened as that thought swirled in his head and the blush followed suit. He found himself in a situation he wasn't prepared to face. He stood slowly up and looked at the person he had spent a good amount of his life chasing after. He didn't know what to say, there were so many unanswered questions and hanging statements between them that he didn't know where to start. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wouldn't let him leave again.

It had taken him a long time to realize that his unhealthy obsession with his team mate might have been more than friendship, more than brotherly love even, but had he been thinking clearly the night before he wouldn't have said something so rash. Yes, he did love him, more than he was comfortable with, Sasuke had been the focal point of his life from the moment he had seen him, alone and angry with the world, on that jetty. But Sasuke had betrayed him, left the village for power and revenge going even to the extent of trying to kill him for it. His friendship had meant little to him then, why should his love be any different?

Sasuke stood up, eyes wary. Maybe he felt he had said too much the night before too.

"Will you come back with me then?"

His eyes shifted to stare directly into his black ones. No matter how many times he had told himself that he would bring him back, he wanted Sasuke to _want _to come back, to realize that Konoha was his home not just his prison. That he could grow and become strong within its walls as well as without.

Sasuke shifted slightly as he looked around him, eyes looking unseeing at his surroundings as if in deep contemplation.

"Yes."

A.N: I know it's short but this is basically the end of the prologue. I have another chapter ready and waiting to be checked by my beta. Though I have to admit I'm prone to short chapters ^^; …Feedback would be greatly appreciated….*opens cookie jar* free cookies??


End file.
